THR Teacat has arrived!

[Vida]

Teacat Great news, I am glad you are doing so well.

ByGosh I bear a bit of bad news. I think the Queen would be horrified at the prospect of tea with cream! I happen to know the following trivia. The Queen drinks Earl Grey, which must be poured first -- then milk added. She carries (well not herself obviously) Malvern Water with her wherever she goes, because it she likes her tea made with it. And, I guess, because she can! I also read somewhere that the royals believe only 'common' people put the milk in first when drinking tea. They refer to those people (and I include myself in here) as MIFs (milk in first people).

 

[ByGosh]

OMG Vida I thought you meant BAD news. So glad it's not bad, as in some sort of problem...
But anyway, so the Queen doesn't use cream? And likes Earl Grey? Hmmmm. I never would've known! Interesting trivia -and snobbery towards MIFs. But being Queen and all, I guess she's 'entitled' to drink whatever tea, however she likes, with whatever she wants in it.
Where or where did you learn this by the way?

 

[Vida]

ByGosh Golly. I never bear REALLY bad news..... I know it because I wrote a silly piece once on international business etiquette for young executives. And trivia like that is easy to find on the internet: for example that Pres. Obama doesn't drink coffee. Who knew? (Although if you enter Obama and tea, you will come up with something very different!) For some reason I like odd bits of data. Comes in handy at dinner parties. Yes, I am that bore.

 

[ByGosh]

Vida Not a bore to me! I'd be one of the brain-dead types with nothing to say at the dinner party, all a-gog and impressed by these little factoids you have.
Also, I love etiquette information. There's not so much of it practiced anymore.

 

[Teacat]

5 weeks + 1 day
Started picking up my son at preschool which means playing on the playground afterwards for 1.5 - 2 hours before going home. Did great! All the other moms happy to see me. Felt so good to be out in the sunshine! I go to bed around 9:30 or 10. Last 2 nights had me waking up at 4:30am by husband/baby and then 5:30am by 4yo and not getting a nap later to make up for it. My husband seems to think I'm all healed and doesn't understand when I get tired after all the things I'm able to do now. Last night without thinking I knelt down to the floor to give my son a bath then I thought, how am I going to get up? I did it slowly and without pain, yay! Did a stupid thing a couple of days ago. Thought I would try a leg lift (lying down). I haven't been able to do them for 2 years at least. I did one but it wasn't easy and it hurt! Did one, that's it, no more. I was sore in the groin the next day so I fell asleep with an ice pack on it and woke up fine, without pain, even after getting up/down from sitting at the picnic tables at the playground about a dozen times having to reign in my 4 yo.

Today, I'm on the 6th day of antibiotic for the redness around the top of my incision. Never any fever, or swelling. I think it's looking better. This picture was taken last night. Josephine, what do you think?

 

[Josephine]

Yep, I'd say that's well and truly on the mend!

 

[ByGosh]

Teacat I'd say it looks better. Much less area of redness around the incision line. Great! How many more days on the antibiotics?
See.....we knew you'd be OK! Now let's celebrate with a nice cup of tea and some cookies!

 

[Teacat]

ByGosh
Yummm! Sounds delish!
I have 10 days total so 5 more to go on them. So far so good about GI problems on this med. I've been eating yogurt everyday and drinking lots of water. Of course, it's only been 5 days though.

 

[onlinebubba]

Teacat Not to be presumptuous, but perhaps inviting your husband to read some of these blogs or the library article from Josephine on the topic would give him better insight into your recovery process. Healing on the outside is deceiving; understanding the overall healing time frame requires being more informed. Many days when our 3 children were younger I was happy to have a job outside of the home to go to (easier than my wife's at home). :rolleyes:

 

[ByGosh]

Teacat I don't think Bactrim's as hard on the tummy as some of the others, like Amoxicillin. Although you're smart to eat the yogurt.

 

[onlinebubba]

Teacat I recommend daily yogurt (live culture) or probiotics while on antibiotics and for up to 14 days after completion to reduce the risk of diarrhea-if you're going to take this approach.

 

[ByGosh]

onlinebubba Good idea.

 

[Teacat]

ByGosh
This is my first time taking Bactrim so I'm not sure what to expect. Just read the Rx leaflet on possible side effects to look out for. I have taken Amoxicillin however, and it doesn't seem to bother me.

onlinebubba
I had him read the Energy Drain article from the library. He was all 'I'm sorry' but it was forgotten the next day. To be fair, he has really stepped up especially when he was essentially a single parent when I was in the hospital for a 2nd time after my surgery. I know he's tired and ready for me to be back to normal.

 

[Vida]

Teacat That leg lift/no big pain gave you just a little taste of how delicious your complete recovery will be. It will be here very soon.

 

[onlinebubba]

Teacat once again I find that BS bloggers are one step ahead of me (pun intended). I "missed" celebrating my wife's birthday (a milestone age) because it was 12 days postop; we are planning a family getaway weekend (our children are all college age now) to properly celebrate next month when I'll feel more up to it. Perhaps planning a getaway together with your husband will give you both something to look forward to; it sounds like family life is busy enough even when you're not recovering from major surgery! I remember those crazy days well...and have learned to relish them now that our baby is heading to college in a few months.

Bactrim as you know is a sulfa drug; your skin may be photosensitive while taking it (this time of year down south).

 

[ByGosh]

onlinebubba I have a baby heading off to college in the fall, too, and I can't stand it! Miss them so much. But I know it's the next step for them and a necessary right of passage. Still get sad thinking of it, though.

 

[Teacat]

onlinebubba
That is a great idea about planning a getaway! Although, the last time we went on a vacation by ourselves was without children. We are doing a family vacation to St. Augustine, FL this summer, though. Hope you and your wife have a great getaway! I'm sure she was very forgiving since you are recovering.
Yes, I had read about sensitivity to direct sunlight on Bactrim. So far, so good. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Teacat]

ByGosh
I can't imagine! My baby will be starting Pre-K in the fall! I know it's not college but man, I still can't believe it! I cry just thinking about it.

 

[ByGosh]

Teacat You're young, so you've got little guys around. How sweet. Yes, pre-k is a big step, but they usually love it and are ready to be out a little bit each day. And have fun with new friends. Plus it gives Mom some free time!

 

[zauberflöte]

Teacat wow I was 4 pages behind on you-- what progress you've made! Don't cry, your baby wil absolutely love pre-K, and you will remember what the word "time" means! LOL
Josephine about 4-5 pages back, thanks for the corrections on all my playing pharmacist! I was batting .300, tho-- not bad for the minor leagues!